Mason's Transportation Nursery

Mason's nursery is finally complete!

We are so happy with the way everything

turned out and can't wait to bring our

sweet boy home to it when he arrives!

I documented our first major nursery project

in a previous blog (Reclaimed Wood Wall).

The reclaimed wood wall is awesome.

Eric did such an amazing job - 

it was a lot of hard work!

After we completed the wood wall,

we picked a beautiful yellow color to

paint the walls.  It makes the room feel

bright and cheery!  

We searched high and low for the

perfect transportation themed items

to hang on the walls.  

(We actually purchased the train

hanging above the crib before we

knew we were having a boy).

Once we found the airplane

and car, we decided the train needed

a little color (it was solid black), so 

we added a little red to it.  

I love these airplane pillows!

I love this airplane mobile - 

it hangs above the glider.

I know Mason will gaze up at it

as I rock him to sleep.

The first purchase we made after

we found out baby was a boy - 

the adorable crib sheet and quilt. 

I love how colorful they are.

I saw some adorable train bookshelves

on Pinterest that used to be made by Pottery Barn.

When I found out Pottery Barn no longer sold them,

Eric built them for me.  He did an amazing job.

Shelly Walters painted the wording for us.

My grandpa worked for the railroad for 

Burlington until his retirement.  

She also incorporated some important dates 

(our anniversary and Mason's due date)

and our initials. I just love how they turned out.

The caboose nightlight from Eric's parents

really finishes out the look!

Our changing table has a really

cute sailboat bin for diapers...

Grammie and Gramps (my parents)

got Mason the cute railroad lamp on the 

nightstand.  It has red lights that flash

like a railroad crossing!

Cutest.  Nursery.  Ever.

Mission Accomplished.

Mason's Baby Shower

On Saturday, we celebrated sweet Mason

with family and friends.  My sister-in-law, Candace

and my mom's best friend, Deena, hosted a 

beautiful shower for us.

Baby Mason's Shower Invitation

With Candace and Deena

With the Grandmothers

With My Mom

With Eric's Mom

With My Aunts and Mom

With My Family (Aunt Paula, Sister-in-Law Candace, Mom,
Aunt Danita, Cousin Lauren)

With My Cousin Lauren

With my forever friend, Summer
(We've been friends since birth practically)

All shower attendees filled out 

their wishes for Baby Mason and some 

much appreciated advice for me.

The Sweets Table - 

The cake (matches the invitation perfectly), 

sugar cookies that looked too good to eat,

but I ate some anyway, 

and chocolate covered Oreos.  

YUMMY!

The Brunch Table - 

Complete with fruit, chicken salad, crackers, 

bread, and egg casserole.

We played two games at the shower - 

The first game, guests had to come up with as

many words as possible using only the letters

in the name Mason Underwood.  My

cousin, Lauren (a teacher) won.

The second game, guests had to think of 

song titles, movie or television titles with

the name "baby" in them.  Cassandra won.

Mason got some really great gifts - 

so many cute outfits and things we will 

really need for our sweet boy.

Guests were asked to bring a book 

instead of a card to the shower.  I got

so many great books to read to Mason.

Grammie Pam got us this train book and put pictures of Pa (my grandfather,
who grew up around and worked for the railroad for many many years) in there.

I got a quilt that my Mimi made - 

She made several baby quilts and saved them

for each of us grandkids to use for our children.

I am so thankful for this precious gift and 

reminder of my wonderful Mimi.  

She would be so excited to meet Mason.

The first of many OU shirts...

So, here I am, 32 weeks pregnant

and so ready to meet our baby boy!

Eric and I will be attending our

childbirth class on Saturday and 

touring the hospital - it's getting real!

Thank you all for your continued

prayers and support.  We love you and

Mason is so lucky to have you in his life.

28 - 30 Weeks

May has flown by - 

it's hard to believe that in about 2 months, 

we'll be meeting our sweet little boy.

28 Weeks Pregnant

29 Weeks Pregnant

30 Weeks Pregnant

On Saturday, we got to see Mason one more time

before he makes his grand entrance.

He likes to keep his hands near his face,

so we struggled to get a clear image of his 

entire face - but then he cooperated.  

He's perfect.

Nursery

We started working on the nursery.

I wanted a reclaimed wood wall...

and Eric made it happen!

We acquired some wood pallets

from a family friend and got to work!

We borrowed the suburban and picked up as
many pallets as we could

We got home and Eric started cutting! 

Taking apart a pallet is hard work.

Eric worked on the pallets until it was too late

to use the saw - we didn't want to 

disturb our neighbors.  He picked up where 

he left off the next day.

Working hard - tearing apart the pallets

After all of the pallets were taken apart,

Eric power-washed each board front

and back.  Then we set them out to dry 

on the back porch.  

The next step was sanding each board.

Each step was very time consuming.

But he worked until he got it done!

And the weather was fantastic...

so at least being outside was enjoyable.

After each board had been sanded,

it was time for a final power-wash.

We let all of the boards dry outside overnight

and then brought them into the nursery.

Eric had to take off the baseboard.  He was

able to do so without breaking it - 

cause he's good like that.

Next, Eric picked up some plywood

to attach to the wall to prevent the drywall

from being damaged with millions of tiny nail

holes.  He painted it black in case

there were any gaps in the wood panels.  

One more strip of plywood

before we can start putting up

the boards....

While Eric was putting up plywood, 

Oliver and I picked out boards that

were the same width and made groups

so we would be ready to start when

Eric finished.

Each row took about 5 boards.  Eric

took them outside and cut off any rough edges.

He also had to cut at least one board to fit

the space for each row.

...and the first board goes up!

We borrowed a nail gun from

a friend from church.... and it made

our lives so much easier!

I even got to use the nail gun!

When we got down to this point, 

we were both almost certain we would

not have enough wood to finish.  But we

kept going, row by row.

We got to the row with the power

outlets.  Eric did lots of measuring and cut

perfect squares for each outlet (3 total).

Miraculously, we made it to the last

row with only 4 or 5 scraps left to spare.

...We had enough wood to finish the

entire wall!  We were so happy!

It was really a miracle.

The finished product.

(Eric still has to get a couple

of things to bring the outlets forward

and up to code)

Pallet wall selfie!

We are thrilled with the way it turned out.

This is the wall the crib will be against.

Now I can't wait to get furniture!

We still plan to paint the rest of the

room a bright and cheery color

and Eric will be spraying a clear

coat of something on the wood

as well.  So furniture is

probably a couple more weeks away.  

I am 17 weeks pregnant and

finally getting a little energy back.

My appetite is growing as well.

I can't wait to see our little boy

again - next ultrasound is March 21st.

It's the big one, where they check

baby's development to make sure

he is healthy.  And we are

close to announcing his name - 

at least we've narrowed down the list

quite a bit... so stay tuned!